The eminent Muslim scholar and renowned Da`iyah, Sheikh `Abdel Khaliq Hasan Ash-Shareef, states: “Relating the good qualities of some people is something done by the Qur’an. There are some Qur’anic verses that praise those who believe in Allah and do righteous deeds. Other verses praise the servants of the Most Merciful (Allah) and enumerate their qualities. Almighty Allah says, “The (faithful) slaves of the Beneficent are they who walk upon the earth modestly, and when the foolish ones address them answer: Peace; And who spend the night before their Lord, prostrate and standing, And who say: Our Lord! Avert from us the doom of hell; lo! the doom thereof is anguish; Lo! it is wretched as abode and station; And those who, when they spend, are neither prodigal nor grudging; and there is ever a firm station between the two; And those who cry not unto any other god along with Allah, nor take the life which Allah hath forbidden save in (course of) justice, nor commit adultery…” (Al-Furqan 25: 63-68)
The Glorious Qur’an also talks about the People of the Book, “Among the People of the Scripture there is he who, if thou trust him with a weight of treasure, will return it to thee…” (Aal `Imran 3: 75)
Having stated the above, there is nothing wrong in praising a person for his or her good qualities that are in compliance with the Islamic Shari`ah. On the other hand, Islam warns against exaggeration in praising people. The issue of idolizing a person refers to conceiving that a certain person may elevate or humiliate or give or remove power or wealth or is asked for benefit or harm the same way one conceives of Allah. Islam warns of looking at people this way as such qualities are referred only to Allah.